PART 1 Expressions
1. Likewise, the recognition and reward systems in most organizations are totally geared to acknowledge the doing of something.
be geared to sb/ sth, be geared to do sth: to be organized in a way that is suitable for a particular purpose or situation
The typical career pattern was geared to men who wives didn't work.
The course curriculum is geared to span three years.
vs: be wired to do sth: to have a natural inclination to do sth
In other words, most of us are wired to do the right thing: to be concerned about others, to be compassionate, to empathize.
2. If they're like the salespeople I know, they'll come back to the office brandishing the lucrative sales order and regaling anyone who'll listen with a blow-by-blow account of how they turned the prospect around.
a blow-by-blow account/ description etc: an account that includes all the details of an event exactly as they happened
brandish: (v.) to wave sth around in a dangerous or threatening way, especially a weapon 挥舞
A man leapt out, brandishing a kitchen knife.
regale: [rɪˈgeɪl] (v.) to entertain sb by telling them about sth
Bailey regaled the customers with tales of our exploits.
3. They are the egregious everyday annoyances that make your workplace substantially more noxious than it needs to be.
egregious: [ɪˈgri:dʒiəs] an egregious mistake, failure, problem etc is extremely bad and noticeable 极坏的
an egregious violation of privacy
4. Playing favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
play favorite: treat one person better than others 厚此薄彼
You always were Dad's favorite.
The manager insisted he doesn't play favorites.
favoritism: (n.)
their favoritism towards their first son
5. Passing the buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
buck: 美金或加元或澳元
pass the buck: to make sb else responsible for sth that you should deal with
the buck stops here/ the buck stops with sb: used to say that a particular person is responsible for sth
The buck stops firmly with the boss.
6. We just lost sight of the many daily opportunities to employ them, and then get rusty.
rusty: 1. 生锈的 (rust n.锈) eg. a rusty nail
2. sb is rusty: not as good at sth as sb used to be, because they haven't practiced it for a long time
My French is a bit rusty.
7. All other things being equal, your people skills (or lack of them) become more pronounced the higher up you go.
pronounced: very great or noticeable
a pronounced Polish accent
This disability is more pronounced in men.
pronouncement: an official public statement 公告；判决
8. When he was vying for the CEO job, the issues holding him back were strictly behavioral -- his brashness, his blunt language, his unwillingness to suffer fools.
brash: 1. behaving too confidently and speaking too loudly, used to show disapproval 傲慢张扬的
eg. brash journalists
2. a brash building, place, or object attracts attention by being very colorful, large or exciting.
The painting was bold, brash, and modern.
brashness:（n.）
9. Two Caveats
caveat: [ˈkæviæt] formal, a warning that sth may not be completely true, effective etc
She will be offered treatment, with the caveat that it may not work.
caveat emptor: [law] the principle that the person who buys sth is responsible for checking that it is not broken, damaged etc (emptor 是买家的意思)
10. Our obsession with winning rears its noisome head across the spectrum of human endeavor, not just among senior executives.
rear one's (ugly) head: if a problem or difficult situation rears its ugly head, it appears and is impossible to ignore (rear有抬起的意思)
The problem of drug-taking in sport has reared its ugly head again.
noisome: very unpleasant eg. noisome smells
11. The experience confirms your misgivings.
misgiving: 疑虑，不安 SYN doubt
Some politicians have expressed grave misgivings about the scheme.
Opponents of nuclear energy have deep misgivings about its safety.
12. Option A: Critique the restaurant and smugly point out to your partner how wrong he or she was.
smug: 自鸣得意的 SYN self-satisfied
What are you looking so smug about?
a smug expression/ look/ face/ smile etc
13. Option B: Shut up and eat the food. Mentally write if off and enjoy the evening.
write sth off: 1. to decide that sb or sth is useless, unimportant, or a failure
After six months of work, we eventually wrote the project off as a non-starter.
2. to officially said that a debt no longer has to be paid
The United States agreed to write off debts worth billions of dollars.
write-off: (n.) 1.a period of time when you fail to achieve anything
This morning was a complete write-off.
2. an official agreement that sb does not have to pay a debt 账目上购销
James persuaded the banks to accept a large write-off debt.
14. Every time Niko floated an idea, Katzenbach interrupted him.
float (an idea): to suggest an idea or plan in order to see if people like it
We first floated the idea back in 1992.
float 还有一个不常见的意思: 首次公开发行股票 to sell shares in a company or business to the public for the first time
The company will be floated on the stock market next year.
15. That's how pernicious the need to win can be.
pernicious: [pəˈnɪʃəs] very harmful or evil, often in a way that you do not notice easily
the pernicious effects of povery
the media's pernicious influence
PART 2 Sentences
1. They are flip sides of the same coin.
2. That's the funny thing about stopping some behavior. It gets no attention, but it can be as crucial as everything else we do combined.
3. There's a simpler way to achieve the goal of "being nicer." All you have to do is "stop being a jerk." It doesn't require much. You don't have to think of new ways to be nicer to people. You don't have to design daily tasks to make over your personality. You don't have to remember to say nice things and hand out compliments and tell the little white lies that lubricate the gears of workplace. All you have to do is ... nothing.